THIS week’s Pub of the Week feature is a bit different as we highlight the Wirral pubs which have made it into the 49th edition of CAMRA’s iconic The Good Beer Guide.

The Guide, which surveys 4,500 pubs across the UK, is considered the definitive beer drinker’s guide to the very best pints in the most picturesque and friendly pubs.

11 peninsular pubs are included in this year’s edition which also highlights a number of the region’s breweries.

Bebington drinkers can celebrate after both the Rose and Crown and the Traveller’s Rest were chosen with the guide praising the former as a “thriving, vibrant and friendly community pub” while the latter was described as a “cosy, traditional hostelry”.

Gallagher’s in Birkenhead is noted for its “fascinating range of military memorabilia” while Bromborough’s Bow-Legged Beagle is a new entry into the Guide after it opened just before the lockdown in March 2020.

Greasby’s Coach and Horses, which is currently being refurbished, makes it in with praise for its “warming fires” and “country pub feel”.

The Irby Mill is noted for its “excellent reputation for its locally-sourced home-made food” while Heswall’s first micropub, the Beer Lab, is highlighted for its “relaxed and minimalist single-room bar”.

Also in Heswall is the popular Jug and Bottle on Mount Avenue with the Guide impressed by its “warm and friendly atmosphere” and great views of the River Dee.

Another of Wirral’s newer establishments, the Black Toad in Hoylake, which opened in 2019, is included for its selection of cask beers and “pleasant beer garden”.

Wirral’s first micropub, the Lazy Landlord Ale House in Liscard makes it in as does another micropub, New Brighton’s version of the Bow-Legged Beagle.

Rock Ferry’s Refreshment Rooms (“off the beaten track but well worth seeking out”), Thornton Hough’s Red Fox, Upton’s Bow-Legged Beagle and the West Kirby Tap complete an impressive year for Wirral’s pubs.

CAMRA national chairman Nik Antona said: “After the struggles of the past 18 months for the industry, it is great that The Good Beer Guide figures are showing the resilience of pubs .”

The Guide can be purchased from shop1.camra.org.uk